In
the world of video games, one of the most popular and iconic genres
is the first person shooter (FPS). One of the most successful
franchises in the FPS genre is Call
of Duty
from Activision.

Activision
is set to launch the next installment in the franchise on November 9,
2010 entitled Call
of Duty: Black Ops.
Activision is betting big on Black
Ops
and plans for the launch of the game to be one of the biggest
in the 31-year history of the publishing
company.

Activision stated during a conference call this
week that it planned to invest more money in the marketing and launch
of Black
Ops than
it has ever invested in a game title before, including last year's
blockbuster hit from the franchise Call
of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Activision
COO Thomas Tippl said, "This year's Black
Ops will
release on more platforms than ever before, and continues to pace
ahead of last year's record setting
Modern Warfare 2 in
terms of per-sales and consumer awareness metrics."

Activision
CEO Bobby Kotick says that he expects Black
Ops
to expand the franchise's audience and the game will not only target
hard-core gamers and existing fans of the franchise. He stated, "This
is, across the board, the biggest investment that we've ever made in
the launch of a title. The market opportunity is bigger than it's
ever been, the install base of hardware is bigger than it's ever
been, and the product has incredibly broad appeal, but it also has a
whole host of functions that will be unique to the core
consumer."

The expectation for Black
Ops
to outperform
Modern Warfare 2 is
impressive. Modern
Warfare 2
was one of the biggest PC game launches of 2009 and raked
in $310 million in sales over the first 24 hours. Analysts
expected the game to sell
5 million copies the first day.